The dances connected with war
were particularly important among the Tonkawa. The men who were to
undertake a raid held a "scout dance". The dance began after
dark. A number of warriors stood in a ring holding a large un-tanned
cowhide which they struck in unison with sticks or switches about two feet
long. A leader keep time, and the whole ceremony was conducted with great
order and formality. During part of the ceremony the men would get up and
sit down repeatedly for about ten minutes, after which they smoked
cigarettes. The men sang during the proceedings in low pitched, then high
pitched voices. They imitated animal cries to represent the "hunting" of
wild Indians. The men sang twice before the tipi of each warrior who was
to participate in the raid, then moved on to the tipi of the next man.

Several descriptions to the "scalp
dance" have been given. In one of these the warriors, dressed
in their best breechcloths and decorated with "war" paint, formed a
circle around the scalp; this had been covered with paint and was held up
on the point of a lance by a woman. Each of the men was supposed to have
some kind of musical instrument. All of these were played in unison, along
with a drum consisting of a deer hide which had been tightly stretched
over a hoop. The Indians also "chanted," at the same time raising and
lowering their bodies in time to the music; this suggests similarities to
the scout dance.

Elements of other scalp
dances have been presented. The Tonkawa scalped a Comanche Indian, cut off
his hands, and placed the body on a bonfire of logs. The scalp and hands
were tied to a pole which was held aloft during the ceremony. Sometimes
two scalps were used; these, however, had first been cut into eight parts.
Another "scalp" dance which was celebrated every night for one or more
months, but it could be held intermittently during a period of about a
month. However, this dance is radically different from those described
above, for no mention of a scalp being used. Furthermore, the women danced
while the men watched. Water may have been used in this ceremony, for the
singers repeated the words: "Come up, woman, carry water for dancing."

A few other war dances have
been described. One of these was the "hold-shield" dance,
referring to a bison-hide shield which was used in the rite. Only the men
participated. They moved in a circle around the fire, giving war whoops to
music provided by skin drums. In still another dance the men apparently
rode horses in a circle. Specially improvised songs were sung at the war
dances. And the achievements and important events in the history of the
tribe were occasionally recounted. The dancers in war ceremonies wore
special headdresses of feathers and of cloth decorated with buttons and
embroidery.

An especially important
ceremony among the Tonkawa was the
"wolf
dance" This was supposed to commemorate the "origin" or
"creation" of the Tonkawa. The wolf dance was held in a large dance lodge.
It was essentially a solemn ceremony and efforts were made to keep it
secret from outsiders. Only the men participated. One of these wolf dances
was witnessed by the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Texas, who had
lived with the Tonkawa for a time. According to this account, there were
fifty warriors covered from head to toe in wolf skins. These were
carefully draped so that the dancers would resemble wolves as much as
possible. The Tonkawa entered the lodge in single file, then moved about
on all fours growling and howling like wolves. From time to time, they put
their noses toward the ground and "sniffed" in various directions.
Suddenly one individual stopped and uttered a sharp cry and and began
scratching the ground at a certain predestinated spot. The other gathered
around and also began digging with their hands. In a few minutes they
uncovered a Tonkawa Indian who had been buried there before the ceremony.
The wolf dancers ran about sniffing and examining him with intense
interest. Next, some of the dancers, representing the older, more
important wolves, met in a council to determine what should be done with
this Tonkawa Indian, They finally advised him to live as the wolves did -
by killing and stealing. They placed a bow and arrow in his hands, saying
that he was to use this to provide himself with food and clothing. He was
to wander about like the wolves and never build a permanent dwelling nor
cultivate the soil - if he did he would surely die.

Another important
ceremonial was the "buffalo dance". In this, some of the men
wore bison horns and caps or hats and danced to the beating of a drum.
Apparently some of the dancers used a gun to "shoot at" others who were
supposed to represent the bison, and these latter "caught" bullets in
their hands to feign being wounded. Still other Indians simulated the
driving of lances through the bison dancers. This ceremony lasted all
night.

The Tonkawa Indians also had
a "deer dance" in which both men and women participated.
Nothing is know concerning it except that the dancers ate the red bean of
the wild mesquite plant during the ceremony. In still another rite some of
the women danced, each one holding a long stick to which were affixed deer
"claws". These sticks were to be struck on the ground.

Both men and women
participated in the "wild hog dance" . The main feature of
the rite was the eating of the bulb of a plant which grew in Mexico.
Although it was not identified, it may well have been the peyote bulb. The
music was supplied by a drum which had been covered with a "wetted" hide
so that only muffled sounds would be produced.

In the "turkey
ceremony" the women danced in a ring, imitating turkeys going
around in a circle. A few of the women participated in the "notched
stick dance". Apparently some of them rubbed a notched piece of
wood to produce a noise which served to call the other women to the
dance.

In a dance called
"singing all around", rattles were used. During the
proceedings a women would pick out a man she liked and sing with him. In
somewhat similar ceremony, the women danced in a ring around four or five
men and sang special songs.

The "dance of the
short steps" was also for the women, the men here being the
spectators. In several other ceremonies, the women lined up in rows behind
the men. Then the entire group moved in unison either forward and backward
or from side to side. Sometimes they also sang to music provided by
drumbeats and the rattling of gourds.

The Tonkawa were among
the first of the tribes north of Mexico to utilize the peyote bulb in the
"peyote rite". Only those Indians who had left their hair
long, who were wearing "perfume" made of special herbs, who had painted
faces, and who were attired in a breechcloth and buckskin leggings and
shirt were permitted inside the ceremonial tipi. The entrance of the tipi
faced the east. After an individual was inside he was supposed to turn to
his left and move around the tipi in a clockwise direction . Most of those
who were participating in to ceremony sat in a circle around the peyotes,
which were laid out on a piece of buckskin inside a flat basket. The
peyotes were passed around the circle always in a clockwise direction. At
intervals the Indians prayed and saw visions. Those persons who were to
sing sat in a row. Each singer sang four songs and at the same time beat
on a drum fashioned from a large metal container, the top of which had
been tightly covered with buckskin. When one of the singers had finished,
he passed on the to his neighbor and shook a gourd rattle for this person.
And after his neighbor was finished singing, the rattle was given to him.
The ceremony lasted for four days and four nights.

The Tonkawa also held a
"sun dance". The Tonkawa sun dance differed from the typical
sun dance of the Plains primarily in that the Tonkawa did not look into
the sun or practice any form of "torture." Besides this, we only know that
the ceremony was restricted to the men, who beat on a cowhide with a
stick.

A "ghost
dance" was witnessed after the Tonkawa had been permanently
settled at the Oakland Agency and had been in contact with a number of
Plains tribes in Oklahoma. During this rite, some of the men sang while
others beat on drums. They went into "trances" and recited "visions" of
the departure of the White men in ships and the re-appearance of the bison
on the Plains.